University president opposes highway funding billLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The president of the Arkansas State University System says a bill to compensate for dwindling highway maintenance and construction funding would be "catastrophic" for higher education in the state. Charles Welch told the system Board of Trustees on Friday that he opposed the bill approved a day earlier by the House Public Transportation Committee. The measure would gradually divert the money from the state's general re...

Southern Arkansas University trustees name new presidentMAGNOLIA (AP) — The Southern Arkansas University Board of Trustees has selected SAU's provost and vice president of academic affairs as the university's next president. The board on Thursday named Trey Berry from among three finalists to become SAU's 12th president. Berry will take over on July 1, following the retirement on June 30 of current SAU System President David Rankin.

Arkansas Tech faculty members promoted, granted tenureEighteen members of the Arkansas Tech University faculty were promoted and 11 faculty members were granted tenure by the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees during its meeting Thursday inside the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center. Policies and procedures regarding faculty evaluation, promotion and tenure were developed by an independent faculty committee in spring 1995 and approved by the board on June 15, 1995. The promotion and tenu...

Lawmakers order schools to teach cursive writingLITTLE ROCK (AP) — All that's needed to return cursive writing classes to Arkansas classrooms is a signature by Gov. Asa Hutchinson — and if he signs it, it will probably be in cursive. The state Senate on Thursday gave final legislative approval to a bill requiring public schools to teach cursive to students by the end of the third grade. Several districts dropped handwriting courses after Arkansas adopted tougher standards for mathematics an...

Senate gives final OK to computer science classesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Senate has given final approval to a bill that would direct all high schools in the state to offer a class in computer science. The bill passed on a 32-0 vote Thursday and gives Gov. Asa Hutchinson another legislative victory. He had promoted high school computer science courses since early in his gubernatorial campaign last year. Hutchinson said he was pleased and that he was hopeful Arkansas would be a nationa...

Atkins Elementary rises to increased level of rigorATKINS — Since the implementation of Common Core State Standards, schools across the state have changed to more rigorous curriculums, including elementary schools. "Students are now asked to hypothesize, problem solve, make inferences, validate, investigate, apply their learning to authentic tasks and ask questions about their learning," Atkins Elementary School Principal Rocci Malone said. Malone said she is proud of how successful her studen...

House panel supports disbanding lottery commissionLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers are ready to scratch the lottery commission from the list of state decision makers. A bill to shift responsibility for Arkansas' struggling lottery from the independent nine-member commission to a governor appointee cleared a committee Wednesday. No member of the House Rules Committee voted against the measure and no one spoke against it. If the bill becomes law, the state Department of Finance and Adminis...

House rejects school district formation billLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A proposal to relax restrictions on creating new Arkansas school districts narrowly failed in the House. Lawmakers voted 49-25 on Tuesday to reject a proposal to lower the amount of students an upstart district needs to splinter from an existing one. The measure fell two votes shy of being approved. Republican Rep. Mark Lowery of Maumelle wants to lessen the requirement to 2,500 students. He said the move would allow Maumell...

Jonesboro transportation officials to mull university loopJONESBORO (AP) — Jonesboro transportation officials are set to consider the completion of a loop around the Arkansas State University campus. The Jonesboro Sun reported a Jonesboro Area Transportation Study Metropolitan Planning Organization committee will mull the plan on Tuesday. The overall cost of the University Loop Extension project has been estimated at $2.5 million. Officials plan to extend a portion of the loop from the east side of t...

RSD offers wellness screeningsThe Russellville School District (RSD) jumped into a new wellness initiative that is part of the school board’s goals that were recently established by offering a free health screening to every employee. Nearly 200 employees participated. Kyle Turner, a health consultant of the Wellness Works Department from Saint Mary Regional Health System, visited every campus. The health screening provided such information as blood pressure, pulse ox, body...

Pope Library hosts literacy programThe Pope County Library System (PCLS) invites residents to take part in a new literacy program at the libraries. The One Thousand Books Before Kindergarten (1KBB4K) program is a fun and exciting reading program that will increase literacy for children ages 0-5 years to bridge the literacy gap that exists for children between “poverty” or “making it.” The program was developed by the 1KBB4K Foundation, based in Nevada, to increase awareness of ...

Hector's finances improveHECTOR — A consideration of the district’s financial status and a change to the scheduled graduation date were the major items of business during the Hector Board of Education meeting this week. Superintendent Walt Davis told the board — as they reviewed the detailed monthly reports required by the Arkansas Department of Education listing Hector schools as being in fiscal distress — that the increasing balances reflected real improvement, even...

Atkins’ enrollment increasesATKINS — Superintendent Mark Gotcher told the Atkins Board of Education during its regular meeting that enrollment was up slightly in January. "The board has charged me with providing a monthly attendance report in response to our declining enrollment that has occurred this [school] year," Gotcher said after the meeting. By the end of January, enrollment was 992 students, up from 990 at the end of December. The board approved seeking video sur...

Scheide's Southern Drift more than a homework assignmentPOTTSVILLE — Pottsville High School senior Mikayla Scheide has applied her education outside the classroom. Scheide is involved in the Future Business Leaders of America, Beta Club, Student Council and Student Representatives, and she has already committed to the University of Central Arkansas, where she will study business management and marketing. Scheide already has more experience in the clothing field than most her age since she started h...

Teacher pleads not guilty to stealing guns from districtASHDOWN (AP) — An Ashdown School District teacher who coached the district's skeet shooting club has pleaded not guilty to charges of stealing shotguns used by the club. The Texarkana Gazette reported Friday that 41-year-old Terry Simmons pleaded not guilty to two counts of theft of property. Simmons allegedly sold or traded the guns at a pawn shop. The guns were among 10 used by the skeet club and kept in a safe at the Little River County She...

Vidovic to offer classical guitar performance at ATUAna Vidovic will make her second consecutive appearance as the featured performer in the Arkansas Tech University Classical Guitar Series on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The concert will begin at 7 p.m. in the Doc Bryan Student Services Center Lecture Hall at 1605 Coliseum Drive. Admission will be free and open to the public. This is the fourth year for the Arkansas Tech Classical Guitar Series. Previous performers have included Peter Fletcher in 2012, G...

Painting royaltyDwight Elementary School first graders took a field trip Thursday morning to Paint With Lane at the Russellville City Mall where the girls painted princesses and the boys painted princes.

RJHS Quiz Bowl team places fourthThe Russellville Junior High School eighth-grade Quiz Bowl team recently competed in the Arkansas Governor’s Quiz Bowl Association Invitational Tournament. The Whirlwinds finished 5-2 on the day, which was good enough for fourth place out of 16 teams in the 5A-7A large school bracket, in spite of being shorthanded for each game. Russellville only had three players all day while all other competitors had teams of five players. In Game 1 of the ...

Gleason donates $67,000 to Tech FoundationMildred Diane Gleason, associate professor of history at Arkansas Tech University, made a $67,000 gift to the Arkansas Tech Foundation that will allow the institution to provide scholarship assistance for qualified individuals of Mexican descent. Gleason’s gift fulfills the final requirement of a $33,000 grant that Arkansas Tech received from the Consulate of Mexico in Little Rock in November 2014. The university was required to obtain a match...